Hilton Head – SC Picture Projecthttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos
The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.Fri, 09 Dec 2016 14:48:17 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/wp-content/uploads/cropped-sciwayicon-32x32.jpgHilton Head – SC Picture Projecthttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos
3232Skull Creekhttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/skull-creek.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/skull-creek.html#respondMon, 26 Sep 2016 16:59:49 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=69844The modern motorized boats seen below sit in contrast to Skull Creek’s ancient history, steeped in ritual and war. This Hilton Head Island waterway receives water from the Broad River and empties into the Calibogue Sound at the May River. Sometimes spelled Scull Creek, settlements along the branch have seen their share of turmoil in generations past. Today, however, waterfront homes, fine dining, and marinas can be found on the creek’s banks, teeming with people enjoying the tidal waters of this Beaufort County treasure.

In 1779 when the British navy was making its way towards Beaufort and Charleston during the Revolutionary War, privateers burned several homes that sat along Skull Creek; Hilton Head was mostly inhabited by Patriots. British troops again burned homes along Skull Creek during the War of 1812.

When Federal troops occupied Hilton Head Island during the Civil War in 1861, Union General Ormsby Mitchel established Mitchelville on the island the following year. Mitchelville was a freedmen’s village for former slaves freed by the troops. Fort Mitchel, also named for General Mitchel, was also established in 1862 on Skull Creek to fortify the island against attacks by Confederates.

However, the wartime history of the creek is recent news compared to that of its first inhabitants. Sometime early in the second millennium B.C. Native Americans who lived on the banks of the creek created two shell rings. The rings are made primarily of discarded oyster shells mixed other mollusks, animal bones, and pottery shards. The rings indicate that the area’s prehistoric inhabitants were not nomadic and foraged for food. The rings also point to social rituals, though their meaning is unclear. It is illegal to remove anything from a shell mound or shell ring.

The Skull Creek shell rings, Nos. 1 and 2, are two of 20 or more prehistoric shell rings located from the central coast of South Carolina to the central coast of Georgia. All are believed to date early in the second millennium BC, and they contain some of the earliest pottery known in North America. The function of the ring shape is unknown, although the rings appear to be carefully planned and systematically deposited structures. As such, they also present one of the earliest records of sedentary life among people who must have lived entirely by foraging. The Skull Creek rings are the only known example of a later ring superimposed over an earlier one, although the precise relationship and reason for building this way have not been determined. The southernmost ring (No. 1), approximately 128 feet in diameter, stands about 7.5 feet at some points above a flat central area, but has suffered extensive removal of shell. Probably only 20 percent of the original volume of this ring remains. This ring contains primarily oyster shell with smaller amounts of other mollusks. The northernmost ring (No. 2), approximately 133 feet in diameter, is nearly plowed level.

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/skull-creek.html/feed/0Mackay Creekhttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/mackay-creek.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/mackay-creek.html#respondFri, 26 Jun 2015 19:03:32 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=52769Separating Hilton Head Island from the mainland is Mackay Creek. The creek is also one of the waterways surrounding the Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, along with Skull Creek and the Port Royal Sound.

Bordered by salt marshes and majestic live oaks, Mackay Creek is popular with those who enjoy spending time on the water. Whether cruising the creek in manpowered kayaks or skimming the waters in a fishing boat, Mackay Creek offers spectacular views of the South Carolina lowcountry. Public boat access points to Mackay Creek include Buckingham Boat Landing and the C.C. Haig, Jr. Boat Landing.

Reflections on Mackay Creek

Photographer Shannon O’Shea of Pennsylvania, a frequent South Carolina visitor, says of her above photo: “Bringing home the last catch of the day.”

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/mackay-creek.html/feed/0Stoney-Baynard Plantationhttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/stoney-baynard-plantation.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/stoney-baynard-plantation.html#respondThu, 05 Feb 2015 15:55:55 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=46752The ruins of this unusual mansion on Hilton Head Island date to the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. The land was originally purchased by Captain James Stoney, who then bequeathed it to his sons, John and James, Jr. The latter constructed the home between 1790 and 1810.

An anomaly among Hilton Head plantation houses, it was built with tabby – a combination of crushed oyster shells, whole oyster shells, water, and lime (seen below). Stoney named his plantation Braddock’s Point for Captain Dave Cutler Braddock, commander of the half-galley Beaufort.

The chimney of another structure also stands in proximity to the main house, likely the overseer’s quarters. The Stoney brothers – John, a merchant in Charleston, and James, a planter – worked as business partners in the operations of Braddock’s Point, though the business ended in economic ruin.

Braddock’s Point was subdivided and sold off to pay John Stoney’s creditors; much of it was purchased by individuals and the Bank of Charleston, to whom Stoney mortgaged his property prior to his death. The Bank of Charleston sold this portion of the property to William E. Baynard in 1845, and it remained in the Baynard family until Federal occupation of Beaufort County during the Civil War.

Union troops used the plantation and its home as a headquarters during the war, though it was redeemed by heirs of William E. Baynard in 1875. The house burned in 1869, prior to the Baynards’ reacquisition if it.

The Baynards were never able to restore the property to its former glory, as the rice industry collapsed after the war due to the loss of slave labor. The property then changed hands several times before being acquired by the Sea Pines Plantations Company in the latter part of the twentieth century.

The company developed the land into a residential area, preserving the plantation ruins. The homeowners of Sea Pines Plantation now maintain the former Braddock’s Point Plantation, allowing for periodic archaeological digs. The site of the ruins are open to the public in a six-acre green space called Baynard Ruins Park.

(Baynard Ruins; Braddock’s Point Plantation) The Stoney-Baynard Plantation, dating from the first decade of the nineteenth century, or perhaps even the last decade of the eighteenth century, represents the main settlement of a typical sea island cotton plantation. The site is significant for the contributions it has already made, and is able to make through additional archaeological research, to our understanding of main plantation complexes and their white owners. In addition, the site provides the opportunity to explore the status and life style of African American slaves associated with household domestic duties, rather than field slaves which have been more extensively studied. Taken as a whole, the complex has the ability to further refine our understanding of the use and cognitive structure of rural plantation landscapes by both black slaves and white owners. Finally, the main house ruins are the only tabby mansion built on Hilton Head Island. Standing architectural ruins associated with the plantation include portions of the main house, a chimney footing for what may be an overseer’s house, and a slave house associated with slaves working in the main house. Ruins of a fourth structure include footings for a tent, probably constructed during the Civil War by Union troops known to have been stationed at this plantation.

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/stoney-baynard-plantation.html/feed/0Leamington Lighthousehttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/leamington-lighthouse.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/leamington-lighthouse.html#respondWed, 04 Feb 2015 17:14:56 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=46694Also known as the Hilton Head Rear Range Light, this tower served as part of a lighthouse system that was constructed in 1880 to guide ships into the Port Royal Sound. Located on the former Leamington Plantation, the front and rear range lights replaced a set erected on the island by the federal government in 1863; those lights were discontinued after suffering storm damage in 1869.

The system’s front range light was built atop of the keeper’s dwelling, and the rear light was affixed to a 95-foot-tall iron tower located one and a quarter miles from the front light. A second dwelling was also built near the rear range light. The lights were designed so that the lower front light could be seen aligned with the taller rear light when vessels were properly positioned. The lights, which were both originally red, could be seen for fifteen miles. On February 1, 1888, the front light was changed to white. Both lights were Hains oil lamps until replaced with Funck-Heap lamps in 1893.

Due to the natural shifting of the sands, the front light was replaced in 1884 by a 31-foot-tall moveable light to maintain proper navigability of the channel. This new light was moved several more times to accommodate the changing landscape, in 1887, 1891, and 1897. The front range light was changed to acetylene in 1915, and both lights were decommissioned in 1932.

The area surrounding the lighthouse was used as a Marine camp, Camp McDougal, during World War II. The land was eventually sold to private developers, and in the 1980s the rear range lighthouse became a landmark on the Arthur Hills Golf Course within the Palmetto Dunes Resort. The front light is no longer extant, though the front and rear keeper’s dwellings were moved into town and are now used as businesses. A brick oil house built in 1892 near the rear range light remains in its original location.

(Leamington Lighthouse) The Rear Lighthouse of the Hilton Head Range Light Station was constructed by the United States Lighthouse Board in 1879-1880 as part of a system of lights and beacons to guide shipping in Port Royal Sound. The lighthouse is significant as one of the few surviving lighthouses in South Carolina, and as the only one of its type remaining in the state. The Rear Lighthouse and a small brick oil house survive of the complex, which originally included a keeper’s house and a forward beacon, which was mounted on a second keeper’s house. The lighthouse consists of a cast iron skeleton, a cylindrical stair tower, and a wooden watch room and lantern room structure. The tower was originally sheathed in wood; sheet steel sheathing was added, probably in 1913. The hexagonal watch room is at the top of the stair and the skeleton frame. The lantern room is above the watch room; the original focal plane of the light was eighty-seven feet from the concrete base and ninety-two feet above sea level. The light could be seen from fifteen miles away. None of the lantern hardware is intact. The system was taken out of service and the Rear Lighthouse abandoned sometime in the 1930s.

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/leamington-lighthouse.html/feed/0Pinckney Island Wildlife Refugehttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/pinckney-island-wildlife-refuge.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/pinckney-island-wildlife-refuge.html#respondFri, 27 Dec 2013 19:12:43 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=30581Located in beautiful Beaufort County near Hilton Head Island and bounded by the Intracoastal Waterway, the Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge includes former plantation land once owned by Major General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Revolutionary War veteran and delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

Today there is little evidence of the former plantation within the 4,053-acre refuge. Salt marsh and tidal creeks predominate the area that was a privately-owned game preserve between 1937 and 1975. In 1975 its owners donated the pristine land to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and it became part of the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex along with the Savannah Wildlife Refuge and several other neighboring areas. The refuge is comprised of Corn Island, Big and Little Harry Islands, Buzzard Island, and its namesake, Pinckney Island, the refuge’s biggest island and the only one open to the public. Freshwater ponds and mixed forests also thrive within the refuge, creating a diverse ecosystem of birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles.

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/pinckney-island-wildlife-refuge.html/feed/0St. James Baptist Churchhttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/st-james-baptist-church.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/st-james-baptist-church.html#respondFri, 27 Sep 2013 14:42:39 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=25878The glamour of the popular resorts on Hilton Head Island often overshadow one of its oldest communities, Mitchelville. The village ascended from the embers of battle and the glory of freedom and is home to St. James Baptist Church, one of the oldest remaining institutions in the historic island hamlet.

The Civil War battle of Port Royal took place on November 7, 1861. Union troops defeated Confederate troops at Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island and Fort Beauregard on nearby St. Philip’s Island, with most landowners fleeing the area and abandoning their properties in the process. The result left hundreds of slaves occupying the land along with Union soldiers.

The vast number of remaining slaves were unsure of their next step during this time of transition. Were they free or were they slaves? Union officers sought help from the government to create a humane solution to the problem of where to house the displaced slaves. In April of 1962, a military order was issued granting the slaves of this area their freedom. But the question of how and where they would live remained.

After attempting to shelter the freedmen in a military-style camp, it was clear that a long-term plan was needed to ensure the freedmen’s success. Union officer General Ormsby Mitchel designated a local area to be established as an official freedmen’s village, including an appointed teacher and voting districts. This new community, Mitchelville, was named for General Mitchel. It is the oldest community to require compulsory education.

St. James Baptist Church in Mitchelville was formed in 1886 by members of the former African Baptist Church. The current building is the congregation’s third, built in 1972.

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/st-james-baptist-church.html/feed/0Zion Chapel of Easehttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/zion-chapel-of-ease.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/zion-chapel-of-ease.html#commentsFri, 20 Sep 2013 17:13:52 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=25457The cemetery with its historic Baynard Mausoleum is all that remains of the Zion Chapel of Ease on Hilton Head Island. The chapel was built around 1786 as part of the Episcopal St. Luke’s Parish, which was established in 1767 and included what are now Hilton Head Island and Bluffton. The Zion Chapel of Ease was built to accomodate islanders who were inconvenienced by boat travel to the parish’s primary church, St. Luke’s, on the mainland (Bluffton).

Members of the local William E. Baynard family were once interred in the mausoleum, but their remains have since been moved. The mausoleum was built in 1846 and is the oldest remaining structure on Hilton Head Island.

The grounds of the Zion Chapel of Ease and cemetery sit along Mathews Drive, named for the chapel’s first permanent priest. Reverend Philip Mathews arrived to the island in 1811 and served as the St. Luke’s Parish rector until 1828.

Union troops occupied the area during the Civil War in 1862, including the chapel, and residents were forced to flee to the mainland. By 1868, nothing of the Zion Chapel of Ease remained other than its cemetery.

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/zion-chapel-of-ease.html/feed/1Coligny Beachhttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/coligny-beach.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/coligny-beach.html#commentsFri, 10 May 2013 18:54:34 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=18587Coligny Beach (pronounced by locals as cuh-LIG-nee) is located at the end of Pope Avenue off Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head Island. Named for French Huguenot Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, who sponsored two expeditions to the New World in the 16th century – including that of Jean Ribaut, who arrived at nearby Port Royal in 1562 – the beach invites visitors to do some exploring of their own.

The wide expanse of shoreline with its shallow gullies and unique sand pattern reveals ocean life swept in by the tides. Shell collectors and shark tooth hunters can discover a trove of treasures left by the receding tide, but as always, please remember to place live whelks (often called conchs), soft sand dollars, and still-flexible star fish back into the sea.

The Town of Hilton Head Island purchased five acres in 1988 to create Coligny Beach Park, a convenient public access to the beach. The park includes amenities such as restrooms and showers, changing stalls, umbrella rentals, and handicapped access to the water. Lifeguards are on duty during the summer months, making Coligny Beach Park a safer place to swim.

Coligny Beach Park offers plenty of parking (though most of it is not free), and it is laced with boardwalks and bike paths. The beach has robust dunes, which can be unusual in South Carolina, and there is even a trail winding behind them. The shore is dotted with single-family homes and modest condos instead of towering hotels.

One of the most beloved parts of the park is its fountain, located at Coligny’s entrance. This wading pool, which shoots arcs of cold, refreshing water, provides fun for children of all ages. Parents and grandparents can even sit in swings while they watch their loved ones splash and play.

In fact, Coligny Beach offers a bit of something for everyone, and because of this it is often quite crowded. Widely considered the most popular beach on Hilton Head, tourists flock here for a mix of sunbathing and shopping at Coligny Plaza. The plaza, which is located next to the park, features a grocery store, numerous restaurants, and plenty of beach boutiques. The park and plaza also boast free wi-fi, which makes a day here even more appealing to those who enjoy the beach but need a break from it now and then.

Reflections on Coligny Beach

Contributor Shannon Rose O’Shea, whose lovely photo graces the top of this page, shares this funny story about her adventures on Coligny: “Coligny Beach is my absolute favorite place to take sunrise/sunset pictures. I take most of them in the winter when they’re aren’t a lot of beach-goers around. I’ve had people say that they saw my photos of Coligny Beach and wished they were there swimming and working on their tans. If they only knew that it was FREEZING and I was covered from head to toe. All you could see were my eyes and my ‘trigger’ finger!”

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/coligny-beach.html/feed/2Folly Field Beachhttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/folly-field-beach.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/folly-field-beach.html#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 16:24:55 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/?p=12856Folly Field Beach, a favorite among surfers, is located on the “Mid-Island” section of Hilton Head. The first beach cottages were built on Folly Field Beach in 1953 to attract more visitors to Hilton Head Island. It has since become one of the most popular family beaches on the island, offering a boardwalk, playground, and picnic areas.

Many thanks to Summer Gagnon for sharing this photo. Summer writes, “I took my daughter to Folly Field to see the sunrise and enjoy a lazy summer Sunday on the beach. I was standing on the boardwalk leading to the beach, admiring the beautiful sea oats. This photo became an instant favorite.”

]]>http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/folly-field-beach.html/feed/1Harbour Town Lighthousehttp://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/harbour-town-lighthouse.html
http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/harbour-town-lighthouse.html#commentsThu, 15 Jul 2010 15:54:34 +0000http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/uncategorized/harbour-town-lighthouse.htmlWhile not historic, the Harbour Town Lighthouse is nevertheless an iconic image of Hilton Head. This 90-foot tower was built in 1970 – the first privately-financed lighthouse to be constructed since the early 1800s. Many visitors enjoy the beautiful view the lighthouse offers of Hilton Head, Daufuskie Island, and the Calibogue Sound.

The red and white lighthouse is the backdrop of the final hole of the popular Harbour Town Golf Course, and it has become a widely-recognized landmark. There is a gift store at the top of the lighthouse and historical information about the area within. Even though the tower was built to be more of a symbol for the area than to assist with navigation, its light can be seen 15 miles away.